Privacy is a concept that is rapidly evolving in relation to the most public of mediums, the Internet, which became even more super-charged with social networking websites. In a recent California election, one ballot measure, Proposition 8, asked voters a question on marriage. Donors to the Prop 8 campaign found that their names, addresses, and amount of contribution were masked up with Google Maps and thus rendered into a format showing the world a map image of donors’ names, street addresses, and dollar contributions. All this data is public record information already, but still quite inconvenient to access.
1. What are the side effects of this action?
2. Discuss any compliance or legal risks related to privacy, security or confidentiality?
Sample Solution
Privacy is a fundamental right that has become increasingly threatened in our modern age. The side effects of making public records available in this easily accessible format can have major implications for both individuals and corporations. For individual donors, their privacy can be violated if the information provided includes identifying contact details such as home addresses or phone numbers, and even more so if it is accompanied by personal opinions on political issues. This could lead to unwanted attention from third parties which could range from verbal abuse to physical threats, resulting in a violation of one\’s right to safety and security. Furthermore, displaying such information publicly may also lead to reputational damage due to negative views held by those who may not agree with an individual\’s opinion (Nack et al., 2011).
Sample Solution
Privacy is a fundamental right that has become increasingly threatened in our modern age. The side effects of making public records available in this easily accessible format can have major implications for both individuals and corporations. For individual donors, their privacy can be violated if the information provided includes identifying contact details such as home addresses or phone numbers, and even more so if it is accompanied by personal opinions on political issues. This could lead to unwanted attention from third parties which could range from verbal abuse to physical threats, resulting in a violation of one\’s right to safety and security. Furthermore, displaying such information publicly may also lead to reputational damage due to negative views held by those who may not agree with an individual\’s opinion (Nack et al., 2011).